Mulching is relatively simply and practical using wood chips. A few cubic yards can cover a large area, and they are relatively cheap to purchase. I get mine from a City Park free from the city. Advantages are uniform moisture for the growing season, earth worms tend to congregate under the mulch, if thick enough weeds are discouraged. My main reason for using is moisture retention, plus rain water can easily filter through to the plant roots. The soil under the mulch does not get a hard dried out crust, and watering is seldom necessary. Also, rain water doesn't cause dirt to be splashed up onto the plants. Wood chip mulch is easy to move around, I clear a path for the plants until they are large, then move the mulch closer to the main stem.

In the Fall, the mulch is sometime raked to one side for re-use, and often simply rototilled into the soil. I find it mostly disappears in a year, and tends to make the soil more friable. Sometimes I add extra nitrogen in the form of urea pellets (nitrogen) to assist in decaying.

There are other materials that can be used but most have problems, Grass clippings and leaves tend to cluster and prevent moisture from penetrating.

Just yesterday, I put cedar mulch in 2 of my garden beds for the first time ever - don't know what took me so long to get in the practice of doing so! I'm sure it will help to reduce the amount of weeds and retain the moisture much more efficienty. I have to say though, I still prefer the look of flowers and plants against the dark soil, as opposed to the lighter coloured mulch.

I always use a double grind bark mulch. It's naturally darker and smells wonderful. I like the double grind because anything larger seems to harbour insects like those horrible earwigs. It defintely smothers the weeds and helps conserve water. In a couple of years it will have composted into my soil.

livilou wrote:I always use a double grind bark mulch. It's naturally darker and smells wonderful. I like the double grind because anything larger seems to harbour insects like those horrible earwigs. It defintely smothers the weeds and helps conserve water. In a couple of years it will have composted into my soil.

I got a nice load of this for mothers day...I must say I really like it. It makes the plants really stand out against the dark...and the shredded consistency is nice to work with...I am sure it will degrade faster than other mulches but that is ok and will add to the organic content of the soil.